


Starscream Meets.... Starscream?!

by FoolishGlint



Series: Starscream Meets Cryptids [6]
Category: Transformers: Prime
Genre: Not being alone for once, Skywarp did a dumb thing, cloning, mild violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:27:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27316237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoolishGlint/pseuds/FoolishGlint
Summary: Starscream has decided to expand his army with the greatest soldiers, himself! But things don't go exactly to plan, and he finds that his army isn't as expendable as he thought.
Series: Starscream Meets Cryptids [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1930696
Kudos: 24





	1. Being a single mother is hard when you're an emotionally distant giant robot

Starscream checked the energon stockpile with joy, he finally had a surplus that would sustain him for a few months. Doing a little dance he made his way to the desolate laboratory. Starscream had stumbled upon the lab when he had searched the Harbinger for energon, time had not been kind to it. 

There were several chemicals that Starscream recognized from his short time at Iacon Academy, but they weren’t sealed and were no longer of any use. Long sheets of cobwebs covered the various scientific paraphernalia. There was a layer of grime on the consoles and tables.

It had taken an entire day to make sure the lab was up to Starscream’s standards, and it looked nearly brand new. But it wasn’t the lab itself that Starscream was interested in. No, it was the four pods that contained blank protoforms, ready to be imprinted with CNA. 

Starscream hadn’t activated the abandoned project yet, due to the Harbingers low fuel tanks. But now energon wasn’t a problem, and it was with great anticipation that he placed the vial filled with his energon into the machine. He pulled the lever and the energon drained, and the protoforms began to spasm as the pods fogged up.

The pods opened up, allowing the fog to dissipate into the air, as five identical Starscreams stepped out. Well, nearly identical. They all sported different paintjobs and one was clearly a femme. No matter, they will serve their purpose nonetheless. 

“Greetings clones, I am your master, and as such you will follow my every command.”

The purple clone stepped forward, “Why do you get to be in charge? I don’t remember voting for you.” 

The other clones murmured in agreement. 

“You're clones, you don’t have rights, and this isn’t a democracy,” said Starscream with visible annoyance.

“Why not?” interjected the blue Starscream.

‘Because I made you, and you will obey me.”

“I don't recall asking to be brought into existence,” he shot back.

“What are our names?” asked the purple clone.

“You don’t need names.”

The clones began to protest at this.

“Why do you get a name while we get none? Why are you hoarding all the good names for yourself? The name economy is in shambles!” purple Starscream was exclaiming in earnest.

“I’m bad at talking to people,” said the orange clone.

“Th-that's not relevant to this conversation,” Starscream said with confusion.

The orange Starscream looked dejected at the ground, like someone had just kicked him in the face.

“We’re getting names and that's that. I am not taking suggestions from anyone!” shouted blue Starscream.

“Fine! I don’t care anymore,” Starscream yelled in defeat. 

The clones cheered as Starscream stormed out of the lab, he was aching to take a nap and forget about the faulty clones he had spawned into existence. 

Settling into one of the berths he had salvaged, Starscream hoped that when he woke it had all been a bad dream. In his dreams he saw the city of Vos and multitudes of seekers soaring through the opulent skies. 

Starscream woke with tears gathering in his optics and quickly brushed them away. This was no time for weakness. Sounds from the main deck distracted him from his brief lament, and he left the berth to investigate. Upon his entry, the clones stopped their conversation and turned to Starscream. 

“Hey guess what. We got names,” shouted the purple clone enthusiastically. Starscream’s disinterested glare did little to deter him.

“I’m Skywarp, that one’s Thundercracker,” he pointed to the blue one, “The one with anxiety is Sunstorm, and Ramjet’s the creepy one.” 

“I’m Slipstream,” said the femme with a clear air of dignity and superiority. 

“I am not creepy!” Ramjet said with indignation, “If you ever slander me again I’ll steal your bones.”

Skywarp mouthed ‘creepy’ at Starscream. Sunstorm whimpered from where he was curled up on the floor as Thundercracker nudged him with his pede. 

“What's wrong with him,” Starscream pointed at Sunstorm. Skywarp shrugged and Sunstorm began crying. 

“I think he’s overwhelmed,” said Thundercracker.

Starscream growled with frustration, “I have no place for weaklings in my army.” 

Thundercracker narrowed his optics at him as he cradled Sunstorm in his arms, “Too bad, you made him and he’s your responsibility.” Starscream grimaced at this but pointed Thundercracker to the barracks anyway. 

“I’m hungry, where do you keep the energon?” asked Skywarp.

Starscream sighed, “In terms of energon, we don’t have enough to last a month, even if we ration.”  
“So we’re going to starve?” questioned Skywarp.

“No, one of us lives and eats the others,” said Ramjet.

“No one is eating anyone,” Slipstream said firmly.

“Actually, the reason why I created you lot was so you could sneak onboard the Nemesis and pilfer some cubes.” 

“We aren’t nameless drones you can order around, we are our own people, we can do what we want,” argued Slipstream.

“I wanna steal,” said Skywarp. Slipstream looked like she was going to slap him as Ramjet nodded eagerly. 

Thundercracker entered the deck, “I didn’t know what to do with him so I tucked him into a berth really tightly and he calmed down. What did I miss?”

“He,” Slipstream gestured to Starscream, “Wants us to risk our lives and steal energon from Megatron.”

“I’m down,” said Thundercracker. Slipstream glared at him and he shrugged.

“We are low on energon, and I for one, would love to screw over Megatron, if only slightly.”

Slipstream held her helm in her servos in defeat, “Fine, but we do this my way.”

“And what way is that, exactly,” said Starscream.

“Training first, then infiltration. We have enough resources to last a week on rations. In the meantime you, Thundercracker, and I will map out the internal structure of the Nemesis, and I’ll be working out combat drills and plan the infiltration to ensure victory.”

Starscream looked at her with consideration. It seems that Slipstream was the most competent one out of the bunch. 

“Alright, I’ll go along with your plan. It seems to be quite sensible.”

She smiled mirthlessly, “I’ll do what it takes to keep us alive. All of us.” 

Somehow her words struck a nerve in Starscream. In the back of his mind he heard the screams and cries of his brethren, and the smell of burning metal. It wasn’t his fault that they all died. He shook it off, she wasn’t talking about the incident. 

“If we starve, I’m eating you first,” Ramjet said intensely, pointing at Skywarp.

Slipstream threw a chair at him. He fell to the ground with a squawk. 

“The training begins now.” 

_________________________________________________________________________

Slipstream kicked Starscream in the chest, sending him back a few meters. He steadied himself and ran in for a punch. She blocked it, grabbed Starscream’s arm and threw him to the ground. 

“You’re rusty.”

Starscream growled in annoyance, “So? Hand to hand combat isn’t exactly relevant in an arms war.”

Slipstream brought her optics level to Starscream’s, “Yes, but you cannot fly, you only have a limited supply of missiles, no null rays, and literally everyone on this planet hates you. You need every advantage you can get.”

She pulled him up onto his pedes and took a fighting stance.

“Again.” 

They dueled for a good few hours while the clones were doing flight practices. By the end of the training exercise they both felt like their limbs were going to drop off. 

“Alright that's enough,” Slipstream said, remaining composed despite her fatigue. The other seekers descended from the skies, stretching their limbs and ventilating. 

“Tomorrow we will be working on fighting and infiltrating as a group, so get a good recharge tonight.”

The group of clones groaned, but none refuted her. It was clear that Slipstream had inherited Starscream’s tactical prowess and desire for absolute perfection.  
_________________________________________________________________________

A few days later, after a particularly brutal training drill, Starscream noticed Ramjet standing at the ship’s console, digits racing over the keys at an alarming speed. The clone didn’t even seem to realize the rest of the world existed.

“What is it that has you so captivated Ramjet?”

Ramjet jumped, only just realizing that the others had their optics on him.

“The data stored in the files are wildly disorganized and most of it has been scrambled into unrecognizable sludge when the ship crashed,” explained Ramjet. 

“And you think it worth your time to go through the corrupted data and organize it,” drawled Starscream.

Ramjet’s wings hiked up, a sign of fervor, “Absolutely! Knowledge is what all mechs crave and fear, for withholding it could kill you, and keeping a tight grip on information can save your life. A universal treasure, and what you don’t know will be your downfall.”

Thundercracker nodded, “Makes sense.” 

Ramjet nodded enthusiastically and returned to his work. It was a bit odd, this behaviour, thought Starscream. However, the clones have already demonstrated their differing personalities, so it's likely that they would manifest their own quirks and interests. 

Starscream directed his attention to Sunstorm, who was sitting awkwardly nearby tending to his minor wounds. He was decidedly the most cowardly of the bunch, refusing to recharge by himself and constantly clinging to Thundercracker.

Thundercracker, for his part, didn’t seem to mind that much. Slipstream labelled Sunstorm’s behaviour as weakness and went much harder on him than the others. Skywarp was more easygoing and fond of earth memes.

Starscream wondered how the mission was going to turn out. 

_______________________________________

The fleet of seekers flew unseen onto the deck of the Nemesis, transforming seamlessly into their root forms. 

Slipstream turned to them; “We split up and whoever finds the energon cache first comms the others. And remember,under no circumstances are any of you to be discovered. If it’s unavoidable, the rest of us will abandon ship. Understand?”

The clones nodded and they went their separate ways. A few minutes later, Sunstorm rounded the corner and immediately bumped into Bulkhead.

“Starscream! Wait a moment.” Bulkhead looked at him closer, “Did you get a new paint job?”

“N-none of your business Autobot,” Sunstorm wanted to curl up and die. How embarrassing, to be caught unawares by the least stealthy autobot ever.

“What are you doing here?” Sunstorm asked him.

“What are you doing here?”

There was a brief silence. Sunstorm turned and attempted to walk away as if nothing happened.

“Wait Starscream, I need you to show me the way off this ship.”

Sunstorm cringed at how Bulkhead’s voice reverberated throughout the echoey halls.He was going to blow both their covers.

“If you don’t keep quiet you’re going to alert the entire Nemesis of our presence.”

Bulkhead huffed but lowered his voice anyways, “You owe us one for patching you up.”

“Fine fine, but keep quiet.”

With Bulkhead in tow, Sunstorm began to retrace his steps and renavigate the labyrinth of corridors, narrowly dodging vehicons. With every step Sunstorm’s anxiety heightened. Finally, they made it to the deck where Sunstorm and his brethren had started at. Bulkhead narrowed his optics.

“This doesn’t look like the way out.”

“Well it's the way I got here.”

Bulkhead sneered, “Should have figured a decepticon like you would pull a trick like this.”

A burst of confidence welled up within Sunstorm.

“Oh I’m sorry! In case you haven’t noticed, we’re well over a thousand meters in the air, there is no exit unless you want to be a pile of broken parts on the ground.”

Bulkhead brought out his weapon threateningly, causing Sunstorm to whimper and shrink back. Was this to be his end? Bulkhead sighed and retracted his weapon.

“You’re not worth it,” he said with disgust, and then he left. Sunstorm didn’t stop cowering until he was sure that the autobot was long gone, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. His comm suddenly pinged, causing him to jump.

::Hey loser, where are you? We found the energon:: It was Ramjet. 

::Don’t call him loser:: And Thundercracker.

::I-I got lost::

::Of course you did:: 

::Shut the frag up Ramjet:: pinged Skywarp. Thundercracker sent Sunstorm the coordinates, who groaned when he discovered that he would have to go back through the gauntlet again.

_____________________________________

Slipstream kept her optics keen as she surveyed the corridors for oncoming patrols. The cache had been easy to find and was unguarded. Surely the mission wasn’t going to go this smoothly. 

She heard lumbering footsteps from down the hall, coming closer. She brought out her null rays and readied herself for combat.

Instead of Megatron’s imposing form entering her line of sight, it was Breakdown. Slipstream’s frame relaxed, and she sheathed her null rays.

“Oh hey Starscream.” Then he did a double take. “Starscream? Did you change your frame or something?”

“Something like that,” Slipstream said sardonically, “what matters is if you’re going to rat us out.”

“Nah, I owe ya for that one time. I never saw you.” Breakdown said this with a wink.

Suddenly the alarms went off. Slipstream felt her blood run cold. 

Sunstorm!

“Huh, what's going on?” Breakdown questioned.

Slipstream gave no answer, instead ducking her helm into the storage room where the others were filling their subspaces with energon cubes. 

“Sunstorm’s been compromised. Grab what you can and go.”

“But-”

“No backtalk, just go!”

“Wait, there’s more of you?” Breakdown looked so confused.

Ignoring him, Slipstream dashed down the halls, heading for Sunstorm’s last confirmed position. She turned the corner and collided with someone. 

A big someone. Megatron loomed over her, and even as Slipstream took a defensive position she couldn’t stop an age-old fear from washing over her.

“Starscream.” That deep raspy voice was filled with familiar hate and disgust. “No, you’re not him.” 

He grinned madly, “So then, do you mind telling me why exactly you have decided to infiltrate my warship.”

Glaring at him, Slipstream activated her null rays and began firing at him.

“A pity, I was hoping to resolve this peacefully.”

_____________________________________________

“Scrap scrap scrap.” Skywarp was freaking out as they ran through the corridors.

“I knew that Sunstorm was going to be trouble.”

“Shut the frag up Ramjet.”

Thundercracker was the only one who seemed to keep cool, even in such a situation. He suddenly skidded to a stop. 

“Well well, if it isn’t the green imbecile himself,” drawled Ramjet. The green imbecile in question, looked to be in shock.

“Th-three Starscreams!” 

Thundercracker scowled, “We don’t have time for this, where are Slipstream and Sunstorm?”

“What?”

“Femme Starscream and orange Starscream.”

Bulkhead huffed, “Last time I saw him was when he showed me the way off this ship, a thousand feet drop.”

Ramjet snickered and Skywarp smacked the upside of his helm.

“What's going on guys, why did the alarm go off?” The trio of seekers turned. Sunstorm was standing there with a look of confusion.

“Wait, you didn’t get caught?” asked Skywarp.

“No, no one noticed me.”

The seekers looked at Bulkhead with an accusatory glance.

“Yeah I tripped the alarm, so?”

“Slipstream is still on this ship, looking for Sunstorm. You’re going to help us find her,” Thundercracker said clearly.

“And why should I help you?”

Skywarp piped up, “ ‘Cause I can teleport you off the Nemesis.”

No one spoke as they processed this new information.

“YOU CAN TELEPORT!?” shouted Ramjet in absolute frustration. 

“When did you learn that you could do this?” asked Thundercracker.

Skywarp shrugged, “Like four days ago.”

Ramjet slapped him.

“So, what now?” Sunstorm asked, still very confused.  
“I have an idea,” Thundercracker said as he activated his null rays.

________________________________________

Megatron was a fearsome fighter, and Slipstream knew that fighting him in close combat was a death sentence. The blasts from her null rays didn’t hurt him much, but it wasn’t her intent to kill him, yet. 

Dodging a punch, Slipstream put her right pede forward and launched herself past Megatron. He had underestimated her, and now she was home free.

Or she would have. A blast connected with her frame, and Slipstream was slammed into the wall. Thundercracker stood over her with a smoking null ray, dragging three seekers behind him. 

She glared at him, but Slipstream was too exhausted from fighting Megatron to get up.

Megatron scowled, “What is the meaning of this?”

Thundercracker bowed, “Apologies Lord Megatron, I will do my best to explain.”

He dropped Sunstorm, Ramjet, and Skywarp next to Slipstream. They weren’t moving.

“Explain then.”

“All five of us are clones of Starscream. He made us with technology he found in the Harbinger. We were made from his CNA, and so we all carry a trait of his.”

Sunstorm, not onlining his optics, surreptitiously grasped Slipstream’s servo. Ramjet took Sunstorm’s and Skywarps servos. 

Thundercracker continued, “Sunstorm has his anxiety, Ramjet his obsessiveness, Skywarp has his sense of humour, and Slipstream.” He glanced down at her. “His tough love.”

Megatron considered this for a moment.

“And what part of Starscream did you inherit?”

Thundercracker bent down and took Skywarp’s free servo.

“His great acting skills.”

And then they disappeared.

___________________________________________________

Slipstream felt her tanks roil, and she struggled not to purge. Ramjet readily emptied his tanks on the desert floor, and Thundercracker stumbled a bit. Sunstorm and Skywarp were not affected by the teleportation in the slightest.

“What was that?”

“Skywarp,” Ramjet pointed at him, “Can apparently teleport.”

“And he knew about it four days ago,” added Sunstorm.

“What the frag Skywarp!” exclaimed Slipstream.

Skywarp put up his servos defensively, “Oh come on, not you too.”

“So much could have been avoided if I had known sooner,” said Slipstream.

“Whatever, that's in the past now,” Thundercracker said dismissively. 

Slipstream narrowed her optics, “Far from. We will be discussing this at the Harbinger.”

“We can’t though, Thundercracker told Megatron about the base,” said Skywarp.

“Don’t worry, the Autobots are giving us an abandoned military base in the middle of nowhere,” Sunstorm butted in.

“When did that happen.”

“Bulkhead was onboard the Nemesis the same time we were. It was him that tripped up the alarm, not Sunstorm,” explained Thundercracker.

“We negotiated with him and landed ourselves another base,” Ramjet said proudly.

Slipstream turned to Thundercracker, “And what does Starscream think about this?”

“Hold on, I’ll check,” Skywarp popped out of sight. The desert was filled with silence for a few moments, until he returned with an irate Starscream.

“What were you thinking! We can’t begin working with the Autobots now!”

“We didn’t have much of a choice,” said Thundercracker, remaining cool.

“Yes, but the Autobots will be keeping tabs on us and now they know of your existence,” Starscream was growing frantic.

Slipstream stood tall, exuding command and prestige. Starscream fell silent.

“Right now our greatest enemy is Megatron. And we’re going to survive.”

She looked at the group of seekers, her gaze lingering fondly on each of them.

“All of us.”


	2. The sun outshines the stars in the day

Sunstorm was nervous, well he was always nervous, but his anxiety had been building up for a while. It had been three days since they got relocated to an abandoned military base in the middle of the desert, and Optimus Prime showed up once. Starscream did not take it well when the Autobot leader greeted him at the base.

Starscream threw a full blown tantrum, and Ramjet didn’t help at all. But Ramjet rarely helped anyways. Optimus had told them that he would come back at a better time, and now Sunstorm was anxiously awaiting his return. He didn’t want to admit it, but Optimus frightened him. From the moment Sunstorm had walked out of the pod there had been this constant anxiety plaguing his mind.

And he hated it. He hated how the others were able to function normally but only he was subjected to severe insecurities and harsh self-scrutinies. Ramjet was weirder than him but somehow free of shame and guilt. And so amidst his inner struggle Sunstorm found himself perched high on top of the military building. Which wasn’t that tall. 

It was a pleasantly cool night, the moon in waxing gibbous phase, and the stars never looked brighter. Abstractly Sunstorm wished that he could shine as bright as the stars, the heavenly lights shone only for themselves and came out every night regardless of what transpired during the day. 

Sunstorm had a sudden urge to get higher, he wanted to get closer. He jumped off the roof and landed perfectly on the ground. The urge that had grabbed hold of him compelled him to run, not fly to the nearest mountain range. The feeling of Sunstorm’s pedes hitting the ground felt oddly idyllic in a way. As he reached the foot of the mountain he jumped up, sinking his claws into the grooves and cracks of the stone. Sunstorm began to haul himself up the steep rocky slope.

He could not explain the reason behind the strange madness that made him forgo flight, just that he must get closer. The wall got steeper, and the next vantage point was too high up for Sunstorm to simply stretch up. He vaulted up narrowly grasping the pocket, and he was hanging on by two digits. Sunstorm felt the burn of his digits straining to keep their hold on the pocket. He gritted his denta in determination, and once again vaulted himself along the mountain wall, hooking his heel on an overhanging rock.

Sunstorm vented harshly as he rested, grasping a small ledge in his servo. He looked up, the peak of the mountain seeming further away than he remembered. Sunstorm shook his helm free of the thought, and surveyed the wall for a suitable route. This time he opted to go left, there seemed to be a consistent path of rock outcrops and grooves, suitable spaced together. Leaping onto the route he had chosen, Sunstorm slowly made his way higher up the mountain, the twinkling of the stars above him.

Sunstorm felt his spark lift as the cosmos became clearer, the celestial bodies illuminating the dark of the night. 

I’m almost there!

In his excitement, Sunstorm rushed forward, and mistepped. He lost his hold on the ledge, and a flash of hot stinging panic racked his spark. He was falling oh so slowly, and bitterly watched as the heavens fell out of his reach. Why wasn’t he flying. Why bother trying to save himself.

Sunstorm, crushed from his failure, plummeted down, ready to meet the ground. In his peripheral vision he saw a black and white jet soaring through the skies. Ramjet dove towards him and transformed, clutching his frame tightly. He was screaming at him, but Sunstorm couldn’t hear a word of it.

Ramjet suddenly flipped their positions and as they hit the ground, his body cushioning Sunstorm from the impact. Ramjet groaned, voice muffled from where his face was pressed against Sunstorm’s chest. Sunstorm moved off of him shakily and sat next to his battered frame, rattled with guilt. 

Ramjet’s optics flickered over to him, and he scowled.

“You fragging idiot, what the frag were you doing up there?” 

The canopy of stars shimmered mockingly. Sunstorm lowered his helm, shaking in rage.

“I… just wanted to. I needed to do it. I hate how they shine up there, without me! I hate how I feel terrified all the time, how I feel lesser than the rest of you!” 

Sunstorm clenched his fists, a certain rage that had been building up no longer holding back. 

Raising his voice he continued, “I feel beneath you, like I am not worth enough to rise up with you, I hate how you live your life without insecurity!”

Sunstorm snapped his helm up to meet Ramjet’s optics, more rage fueled words ready to spill from his glossa. He stopped, Ramjet was looking at him softly, without any sign of annoyance.

“You idiot, you’re a real afthole aren’t you.”

Sunstorm looked at him in surprise, Ramjet smiled back weakly.

“You honestly don’t think that I have problems of my own. My entire existence is subjected to uninvited whims that drive me to do and say whatever randomness my mind sees fit. I know that I am not by any means a kind person, but I am a person nonetheless, I am multifaceted. I am not just one of Starscream’s traits packed into a protoform. We’re people Sunstorm, but we’re not the same. “

He gently took Sunstorm’s servo on his own.

“I’m self-aware, regardless of what you and the others think. I see no reason to filter myself or my actions. I can put up a front all I want but I’ll always know the kind of person I truly am.”  
He sighed and sat up, ignoring the pain, “You’re very troubled Sunstorm, you feel inadequate and as such feel as though you have to compensate for your existence. You think the rest of us hate you, and so you hate us. I know it’s hard, but one day, through your struggles, you’ll finally relieve yourself of the burden you placed on yourself.”

The stars had begun to flee as the sun rose, the light it cast made Sunstorm’s tears appear a kaleidoscope of gold and orange.

Ramjet brought his servo up to Susntorm’s face and wiped away a tear, “I can talk at you all I want, but your troubles won’t disappear in a night. It’s a journey Sunstorm, but you’re not taking it alone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did I write this. Anyway sorry that its short.


End file.
